Carlo Ancelotti is unconcerned about Vinicius Junior's current form and fully expects him to bounce back quickly as they prepare to face Real Sociedad.
Vinicius has scored once and registered one assist in LaLiga so far this season, while he has created 15 chances, the most of any of his team-mates.
However, he has been criticised for a slow start to the season with Madrid, and for lacklustre performances for Brazil in a narrow win over Ecuador and a shock loss to Paraguay during the international break.
Ancelotti acknowledged that Vinicius has yet to hit the heights of his previous seasons, but stressed that the player needs support.
"He's not at his best, but he's still very important for us," Ancelotti told a press conference on Friday.
"We're in no hurry because the team has managed to score, and he has been important... and the last concern for me is Vinicius' condition, but we have to take good care of him.
"He always works well, and it's a matter of just time for him to reach his best level. I can't fool myself into thinking that I'll have all players at 100% at all times.
"I don't want to go into his problems in Brazil, but what I see is a more general issue, because they are not managing to bring out their best version as a group.
"Here we are delighted with Vinicius because although he is not at his best right now, no one can forget that with Vini, we have been able to win two Champions League titles... We have to be very fond of him at Madrid."
Ancelotti said that he will have to evaluate the fitness of Vinicius and his Brazil team-mates Rodrygo and Endrick after a long trip back from international duty, in order to minimise the risks of injury as his side gear up for a busy schedule with seven games in the next three weeks.
The Italian will face a selection headache ahead of Saturday's clash at La Real with defender David Alaba and midfielders Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos and Aurelien Tchouameni still recovering from injuries.
"With the way the calendar is built, we will have injuries, it is just the way it is, so rotating is a good thing," Ancelotti added.
"We are used to playing that many games but need to be vigilant in monitoring the players' fatigue so they can rest when they need.
"The players who have just come back from the international break, like Vinicius, Rodrygo and Endrick, who had long travels with Brazil, are under observation because they haven't had time to rest or train.
"We have to try to avoid injuries. Last year we had a lot of injuries, but we managed to cope very well. With this schedule, it's normal to have injuries, and we have to face it."
Vinicius suffered 'injustice' after missing out on Ballon d'or, says Brazil coach Dorival
Dorival Junior feels Vinicius Junior suffered an "injustice" by not winning the Ballon d'Or, as the Brazil head coach slammed the "unfair situation".
The Real Madrid winger failed to scoop the accolade despite scoring 24 goals and providing 11 assists last season, as Los Blancos won a LaLiga and Champions League double.
The club opted to skip the ceremony after hearing Vinicius Junior would miss out on the top award, which was won by Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri.
Madrid's decision not to attend generated mixed reviews. City head coach Pep Guardiola empathised with Carlo Ancelotti's side, but LaLiga president Javier Tebas accused them of "exaggerated victimhood".
Dorival acknowledges Rodri was deserving of the award, having helped City to an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title before starring Spain's victorious Euro 2024 squad.
However, the Selecao boss believes Vinicius has every right to feel aggrieved at missing out.
"In my opinion, [it's] an unfair situation, especially because it is an individual award," Dorival told reporters during a press conference.
"Nothing against whoever won the award, quite the opposite. It is the recognition of one of the great players of Spanish football, but Vinicius - for the work he did - should have received different attention.
"But the greatest prize that Vinícius won was the recognition and respect of his people. The vast majority of the Brazilian people realised the injustice that was done to the player who could have deservedly received the award."
Minnesota 'justified the work' by overcoming Real Salt Lake
Minnesota United "justified the work" they did in preparing for a penalty shootout after beating Real Salt Lake, so says Eric Ramsay.
Loons coach Ramsay invited the club's office staff to attend the training ground and jeer his players during penalty practice ahead of Minnesota's playoff opener against Salt Lake.
After a 0-0 draw, Minnesota came away with a 5-4 shootout victory to take the edge in the best-of-three series, meaning a win at home on Saturday would get them into the next round.
And Ramsay believes his unorthodox method of preparation paid off.
"I would like to think that probably, without that, the players wouldn't have had the level of conviction they largely showed," Ramsay said.
"It was a bit of fun. There was a real sense of us being intentional behind that.
"I was really pleased that we included that as part of our prep.
"I don't think there were big chances given up either way.
"I sort of felt like as we opened up, we started to leak a little bit more space that wasn't there in the opening stages.
"[Goalkeeper] Dayne [St. Clair] was called into action a couple more times, and so was [Salt Lake goalkeeper] Zac MacMath. So I think it was a very even game, and given that we're coming here as the away team under challenging conditions, that's hats off to us.
“It felt like if we if we won, it would have justified the work. If we lost, there wouldn't have been anything we could have done differently.
"We were very solid, very disciplined, and that's one goal allowed in six games, which is very difficult to achieve at this level.
"I'm pleased with the defensive effort. I was also pleased that we were able to start to find a foothold in the game with the ball and create a couple of really good chances."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Minnesota United - Dawyne St. Clair
St. Clair made six saves in Game 1, and has been in fine form as of late.
United has allowed only one goal in their last six matches going back to the end of the regular season, going unbeaten in that time (W4 D2). This is the first time in club history that the Loons have allowed just one goal in a span of six matches in all competitions.
Real Salt Lake - Cristian Arango
Arango attempted five shots in Game 1, the most shots attempted by a Salt Lake player in a postseason match since Damir Kreilach had six attempts against Sporting Kansas City in the 2018 playoffs.
MATCH PREDICTION: MINNESOTA WIN
Salt Lake have managed just four wins in 21 all-time away playoff matches (D7 L10) including going winless in four straight (D2 L2). RSL lost on penalties in each of the last two away matches that ended in draws (2022 at Austin FC, 2023 against the Houston Dynamo).
After Tuesday's win on spot-kicks, Minnesota have been involved in seven penalty shootouts in all competitions since joining MLS in 2017, winning six of them, including the last four in a row.
The last five meetings between Minnesota and Salt Lake have been drawn after 90 minutes.
Including playoffs, the only matchup that has been drawn six straight times in MLS play is between the Chicago Fire and the New York Revolution, who played in six straight draws from 2021 to 2024.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Minnesota United - 44.5%
Real Salt Lake - 28.6%
Draw - 26.9%
Campion College, Hydel book quarterfinal berths as former champions STGC, Wolmer's Boys, STATHS miss out
Campion College and Hydel High booked their spots in the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup quarterfinal round after both registered 1-0 wins over St Jago and Wolmer’s Boys in their respective second round group encounters on Friday.
The win for Campion College saw them finish second in Group One on six points, behind reigning champions Mona High, who blanked many times champion St George’s College 3-0 to finish on maximum nine points.
St George’s placed third on three points and missed out on the quarterfinal along with St Jago, who ended without point. However, both will have a shot at the Walker Cup knockout title.
The same is true for perennial semi-finalist St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) and 10-time winners Wolmer's Boys, who were both eliminated from the Manning Cup.
Wolmer’s Boys’ loss to Hydel saw them finish at the foot of Group Three with a point, while STATHS’ 1-0 win over group winners Kingston College was not enough to see them through. They finished third on four points, as Kingston College and Hydel took the top two spots with six points each.
Kingston College, Campion College, Mona High and Hydel are joined by Group Four leaders St Catherine (six points) and Group Two leaders Excelsior (six points) in the quarterfinal, with Jamaica College, Tivoli Gardens and Eltham on the hunt for the other two spots.
Friday’s results
Campion College 1, St Jago 0
Mona High 3, St George’s College 0
Hydel High 1, Wolmer’s Boys 0
STATHS 1, Kingston College 0
Saturday’s fixtures
St Catherine vs Jamaica College
Calabar vs Charlie Smith
Excelsior vs Jonathan Grant
Tivoli Gardens vs Eltham
*All games are scheduled for 3:00pm
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